Treasury

North East Investment Zone

Gareth Davies: On Friday, the government and the forthcoming North East Mayoral Combined Authority jointly announced that the North East Investment Zone will focus on Advanced Manufacturing and Green Industries, building on the region’s long-standing sectoral strengths and increasing prominence as an international hub for clean energy. Aligned to the Arc of Innovation - running from Northumberland down to Sunderland and Durham, with opportunities along the Tyne Corridor- the North East Investment Zone builds on the trailblazer deal announced for the North East and will bring benefits to businesses and local communities across the whole of the region.Furthermore, a new Nissan-led investment worth £2 billion is being made into the North East to develop two new electric vehicle models. This will create demand for a major expansion in the local electric vehicle supply chain which the Investment Zone could support.Building on the region’s existing strengths, including as a world leader in automotive and advanced manufacturing, electric vehicle production, battery manufacturing, the offshore wind sector and advanced low-carbon materials, together with strong natural assets and a strategic geographic location, the North East Investment Zone will bring opportunity into the region through a total funding envelope of £160 million over 10 years, following the extension of the Investment Zones programme that was confirmed at Autumn Statement 2023. The Investment Zone has been developed with strong support from the region’s Universities and Catapult Centres and is aligned to their existing research and innovation excellence. Local partners expect that the Investment Zone will help leverage significant private funding, including the £2 billion Nissan-led investment announced on Friday, and help support more than 4,000 jobs over the first five years of the programme.The government, the forthcoming North East Mayoral Combined Authority and other local partners will continue to work together on the Investment Zone to jointly agree the outstanding elements of the programme, including the breakdown of how the North East Investment Zone’s funding envelope will be deployed, with a view to setting out further details in due course.

Home Office

Publication of the government response to the consultation on the ban on SIM farms

Tom Tugendhat: I am today publishing a response to the consultation on the banning of SIM farms in the UK and introducing legislation that would criminalise the possession and supply of SIM farms used for fraud. In May 2023, we consulted on a potential ban on SIM farms, defined as devices that can make calls and texts and hold more than 4 SIM cards at one time. We are grateful to those who took time to respond to the consultation. Responses to the consultation support the Government's approach to addressing the issue of SIM farm equipment being used to perpetrate fraud. Respondents agreed that the ban will raise the barrier to entry for those engaging in illegal activities, making it more difficult for them to obtain and exploit SIM farms for fraud. This consultation has informed legislation that we have brought forward in the Criminal Justice Bill, creating a new criminal offence to supply or possess a SIM farm, subject to certain exemptions for legitimate use and where adequate due diligence has been undertaken. The offence will carry a penalty of an unlimited fine. The provisions include measures to extend the offence to any other telecommunications device or other article, where there is a significant risk of it being used for fraud. This new offence will give police additional tools to disrupt criminals and make it more difficult to access and abuse SIM farms and similar technologies for fraud. The response (CP 978) has been laid before the House is available on GOV.UK.

Licensing update

Chris Philp: The UEFA Men’s European Championship will take place from 14 June to 14 July 2024. I am pleased to launch a consultation on extending licensing hours in England and Wales for certain matches (specifically the semi-final and final) of the 2024 UEFA European Championship contingent on the England men’s national football team and/or the Wales men’s national football team and/or the Scotland men’s national football team playing in those matches. The consultation is aimed at members of the public, local licensing authorities, licensed premises, and other interested parties in England and Wales where these proposals apply. The extension would ensure that licenced premises in England and Wales wishing to host a viewing of the match and potential post-match celebrations are able to do so. The Government proposes to make a licensing hours Order under section 172 of the Licensing Act 2003 which would contingently extend opening hours on the days of the semi-final (9 and / or 10 July) and final (14 July) so that they would end at 01:00 (i.e. early in the morning after the matches have taken place rather than 23:00 on the day of the matches) for the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises and the provision of regulated entertainment in licensed premises in England and Wales. The extension would be contingent on England, Wales and/or Scotland reaching those stages of the championship and would not take effect should none of these teams reach those stages of the tournament. I am seeking to use a contingent order to ensure that there is sufficient time to publicly consult on the proposed extension and follow the required Parliamentary procedure. A copy of the consultation will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and made available on GOV.UK. The consultation will run until 19 February 2024.

Department for Business and Trade

Advanced Manufacturing Plan and UK Battery Strategy

Kemi Badenoch: Last week, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £4.5 billion package of support for the manufacturing sector as part of our focus on growth and investment. Today, I am pleased to publish the Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Plan and UK Battery Strategy, backed by £3 billion from this package of support. Over £2 billion will support the growth of the UK’s automotive industry, and £975 million will be committed to the aerospace industry. Advanced Manufacturing Plan Manufacturing plays a vital role in the UK’s economy. The UK is a global hub for advanced manufacturing, recently overtaking France as the 8th largest manufacturing nation. The Government’s ambition is to build on these strengths and to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a manufacturing business.The Government has a strong record of helping the sector to thrive. Our approach has led to significant investment successes - Tata has announced a £4 billion Gigafactory, and this week Nissan announced it is leading up to £2 billion of new investment to produce two new electric vehicle models in Sunderland. Already, we are the most attractive destination in Europe in terms of strategically significant foreign direct investment (FDI) according to EY, and we must keep it that way.Last week’s package of measures further cements our commitment to the sector. Today, I am pleased to outline the Government’s complete Advanced Manufacturing Plan, which details the Government’s three key priorities: investing in the long-term future of manufacturing, cooperating internationally and building supply chain resilience; and reducing costs and removing barriers to boost competitiveness. The Plan is to be further augmented by:A new industry Hydrogen Taskforce to set strategic direction for the potential use of hydrogen propulsion systems and manufacturing opportunities for the UK.Exploring the establishment of a Manufacturing Observatory which would aim to build our capability with industry and researchers on manufacturing evidence and analysis.Negotiations on a Critical Minerals Agreement, as part of the Atlantic Declaration announced by the Prime Minister and President Biden in June, to enable those minerals extracted or processed in the UK to count toward sourcing requirements for clean vehicles eligible for tax credits under the US Inflation Reduction Act.The establishment of an industry forum, supported by a Call for Evidence, on access to finance for manufacturers to identify the market failures, constraints, and barriers that the sector is facing to unlock additional investment for advanced manufacturing.Our response to Professor Dame Angela McLean’s Pro-Innovation Regulation of Technologies Review: Advanced Manufacturing, which focuses on how regulation and standards can drive innovation and growth.A new Grid Connections Action Plan with Ofgem that will help to reduce the average delay a project faces to connect to the transmission network from 5 years to 6 months.The Advanced Manufacturing Plan is also supported by a range of measures in the Autumn Statement including a commitment to make Full Expensing permanent. This will allow businesses to invest for less, representing a tax cut to companies of over £10 billion a year and increasing total business investment by £14 billion over the forecast period or £3 billion per year.UK Battery StrategyAlongside the Advanced Manufacturing Plan, I am also publishing the UK’s first Battery Strategy. Battery demand is one of the highest growth clean energy sectors in the world and the UK is well placed to reap the rewards due to its research expertise, its thriving automotive sector and its leading electric vehicle battery startup ecosystem.Our vision is for the UK to achieve a globally competitive battery supply chain by 2030 and to be a world leader in sustainable design, manufacture, and use of batteries. In the strategy, I am pleased to announce a range of measures to support the UK battery industry, including:As outlined at Autumn Statement and in the Advanced Manufacturing Plan, committing £2 billion of capital and R&D funding for zero emission vehicles, batteries and their supply chains to 2030, building on the work of the Automotive Transformation Fund and the Advanced Propulsion Centre. Investing an additional £50 million to enhance the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre's development facilities; boosting its capability for R&D in new chemistries and future technologies and in an Advanced Materials Battery Industrialisation Centre in the West Midlands and North East to bridge the gap between laboratory research and commercial production; bringing total government investment in the Faraday Battery Challenge to over £600 million.Developing pro-growth battery regulation to support the circular economy. Defra are committed to publishing a consultation and Call for Evidence as early as possible in 2024. Expanding market access for the trade of critical minerals and promoting high international standards in supply chains when negotiating new Free Trade Agreements.Across our manufacturing sectors, I have been clear that we do not intend to enter a distortive subsidy battle with other economies. The UK’s access to rules-based, free trade through our growing Trade Agreement portfolio is key to our offer as the best place to do business and for internationally mobile investment. Already, we have signed trade deals with Australia, New Zealand, CPTPP - with more on the way.The UK has a proud manufacturing heritage. The Advanced Manufacturing Plan and UK Battery Strategy are a major step forward in ensuring its continued long-term success.I shall place copies of the Advanced Manufacturing Plan and the UK Battery Strategy in the Libraries of the House.